‘Iron Lady’ makes it to Mt Everest base camp at age 73
A grandmother has ticked off the final feat in her bucket list after scaling Mount Everest base camp at the age of 73.
Suzie Oliver, known among her friends as "Iron Lady", reached the base camp at 5,364m above sea level after a gruelling eight-day hike.
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Suzie Oliver, known among her friends as "Iron Lady", reached the base camp at 5,364m above sea level after a gruelling eight-day hike.
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Transcript
00:00 What made you add this in your bucket list or put this in your bucket list?
00:03 Because they say the highest mountain in the world, why not doing that, right?
00:07 You don't want to have bucket list going to KL hiking, right?
00:12 73-year-old Suzie Oliver has ticked off the final feat in her bucket list
00:24 trekking to the Mount Everest base camp
00:27 knowing among her friends as Iron Lady
00:30 the Melaka-born grandmother reached the base camp
00:33 which is 5,364 metres above sea level
00:37 after an eight-day hike
00:40 She prepared for the trip to Everest by ticking off two other items on her list
00:45 climbing Mount Kinabalu in May
00:47 and trekking up a mountain known as G7 in Cameron Highlands in August
00:53 Kota Kinabalu, I went there in May
00:56 You went to the top?
00:58 Yeah, that is easy, 4,095 metres only
01:02 and because they say when you do Kinabalu, Everest is chicken feet
01:06 you can do it man, Everest is easy
01:10 the only the high altitude thing is a bit tough
01:13 after Kinabalu, we went to that G7 Yombla
01:18 that was the tough one, 25 hours non-stop walking
01:22 when people invite you, don't even go
01:25 I remind you first, you can go, you should stay one night
01:29 stay one of the mountain camp one night and do it the next day
01:33 don't do it together like us, crazy
01:36 we go up and down, never sleep
01:38 with this light, you just continue
01:40 that's why 25 hours, you don't act separately
01:44 you go all the way up and down, 25
01:47 that would have been a killer trip
01:49 killer, by the time you are 20 hours
01:52 you keep on falling down because your legs give way
01:55 and you don't eat and it's raining, you're wet and muddy
01:59 I did that, it was in the jungle
02:02 it was fun, but I don't regret doing that
02:06 I thought that was challenging, so I can tell people don't do that
02:11 Two weeks after recovering from the G7 trek
02:15 Suzie headed to Nepal with two friends
02:17 who are in their 40s and 50s
02:21 The trio started their expedition
02:23 as soon as they reached an airfield in Lukla
02:26 at about 6am on the first day with a guide and two porters
02:31 They hiked about 6 or 7 hours each day
02:34 before resting in small motels
02:36 The weather was about 16 degrees Celsius during the day
02:40 and dropped to -9 in the night
02:44 Even while indoors, she would be in three layers of clothes and a blanket
02:49 My focus is just to reach there, not to think about a lot
02:53 I think you need to be more relaxed and to be able to enjoy the scenery
02:57 It's so beautiful, I never had time to take pictures
03:00 All the pictures that I took were taken by my friend
03:04 because I was too focused
03:05 and I dare not look down because it was too high
03:09 If you look down, you fall, you die, that kind of thing
03:12 Despite the challenges during the trail
03:14 especially where her vegetarian diet was concerned
03:17 Suzie was determined to complete the adventure
03:21 The group reached the base camp on the eighth day
03:25 Were you one of the oldest persons to reach the top?
03:27 I think so, because along the way, everybody said
03:31 when they see me, because the word goes around
03:34 like, "This 73 year old, don't play a fool"
03:38 So everybody was very nice
03:40 They clapped, they clapped the whole time
03:42 They cheered me, you know
03:44 They took pictures, everybody had my picture
03:47 from all over the world
03:48 So you were like a celebrity?
03:49 Yes, yes, yes
03:51 They all took a picture with me because, you know, this 73
03:55 They want to be like me
03:56 Nobody was in their 70s then?
03:58 No, no, they were all 60 plus
04:02 So, so far that I know
04:04 60, 70s? What was the youngest you met then?
04:06 Oh, there was youngest one, American, maybe 13 years old
04:11 13 years old?
04:12 But the family, the whole family brought them there
04:15 Suzie said trekking down to Lukla was more challenging
04:20 Coming down is the killer one
04:22 because you press, let's say you do the eight days
04:25 Can you imagine you walk eight days to the base camp?
04:29 When you come down, they want you to
04:31 from the base camp to the airport, three days
04:34 That's how they do, because coming down
04:36 they thought it's easy and you don't have problem
04:39 with your lungs and all that
04:41 So they press eight days to three days
04:43 So every day you walk nine, ten, eleven hours
04:47 every day, you know
04:49 For the three days, that's how
04:52 right up to the airport, three days
04:56 After the nine days, you suffer
04:59 You really walk
05:01 When I reached the airport, that motel there
05:04 I was so dead tired
05:08 I did it, it was done, it was finished
05:10 I heard Thomas' message
05:13 "Elder sister, I know, I hope everything is okay for you"
05:17 I was crying
05:19 Without me knowing, I was crying
05:23 Hear Thomas' message
05:26 I did it, I arrived
05:29 I'm done hiking
05:31 I get so emotional
05:33 that I was able to burst out, you know
05:36 After that, I know he was doing good and all that
05:43 It was just, maybe you hold too long
05:47 and then after 11 days, you did it
05:50 You're done, no more hiking
05:52 You accomplished and no injured
05:55 and you heard familiar voices, right?
05:59 I was crying
06:01 When asked if she would do it all over again
06:04 It's fun, I don't regret it
06:06 If you think, you ask me, "Do you want to go again?"
06:08 Yes
06:10 Yes, I say yes
06:11 Maybe I will make it more relaxed, not so tense
06:14 I get to see more and take more pictures
06:17 I will do it again
06:20 Suzie says she's going to start a new bucket list
06:23 which includes conquering another mountain in Nepal next year
06:28 (THOMAS' BUCKET LIST)
06:29 (COMING SOON)
06:32 (THOMAS' BUCKET LIST)
06:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]